Heroes of the Painted Sky

Down the PCs descended, into the subterranean caverns beneath the evil, racist nation of Cordova, in the hopes of evading the Cordovan patrols that had been hunting them for the last 48 hours. At the bottom of the tunnel they discovered an 80-foot cliff which opened up into a huge cavern, filled with gigantic subterranean mushrooms the size of trees and lit by bioluminescent flora. They also discovered a much smaller hole which was just big enough for a goblin (or a halfling) to wriggle through. Bob bravely volunteered, and found an easy descent that opened up at the bottom of the cliff, which must have been how the goblins climbed to the top of the cliff in the first place. Using ropes, the rest of the PCs carefully descended, coming to the bottom of the cliff.

They resolved to head southeast and make for the Elven lands which the Cordovan boy had told them about. Rumor had it that the elves were still able to go to war with the Cordovans, which made them natural allies for the Cordovan-hating PCs. As the PCs looked for a tunnel that would lead them southeast, they spotted a hunting party of kobolds to the north, using spears to hunt the small underground pigs that lived in the mushroom forest. The kobolds had not spotted them yet, so the PCs wisely avoided them, making for the south wall of the cavern.

But they had no sooner gotten out of sight of the kobolds than they spotted a mysterious line of purple-red mushrooms, each about the size of a watermelon, which had apparently been planted so as to form a perimeter of sorts. Unfortunately the PCs were unable to identify the strange flora, and when they went to touch one it emitted a piercing high-pitched wail, giving away their position!

The kobolds came running towards the PCs, spears at the ready, and in the distance to the south they spotted the forms of strange mushroom-people watching them. The kobolds intercepted the PCs at the south wall of the cavern, and a pitched battle ensued. Unfortunately for the kobolds, a mysterious stranger emerged after a few rounds of melee, charging right into the kobold lines and slaughtering one after another in a mad rage! He appeared as a mountain of wild, unkempt hair, for both the hair on his head and that of his beard had clearly not been tended in months. He was short, clearly Dwarven in stature, and walked with a limp, making him slower than even a regular dwarf. Beneath his wild hair, the PCs could make out chain mail that had been ignored and left to rust and molder. He smelled foul and flecks of spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke, and yet in his hand he clutched a hammer emblazoned with glowing runes and etched in gold and platinum. He tore into the kobold ranks like a thunderstorm, striking down one after another, and swiftly putting the rest to flight.

After the battle had ended, he ignored the PCs and began to pick over the dead kobolds, looting their bodies. Venjin approached and began to question him, but he said little. He kept repeating the phrase “Zep’s dead, Holly’s dead, Elras is dead, Tharin is gone, and yet the Oathbreaker lives.” When he had finished looting the kobolds, he turned and wandered off into the darkness of the caverns from whence he came. The PCs chose not to follow him.

Instead, they approached the mushroom creatures which had stood silently in the distance, watching the battle with the kobolds. Venjin approached them, and one of them opened up a fungal pod and sprayed him with a cloud of spores, and Venjin suddenly realized he could hear the creatures speaking inside his head, and could converse with them telepathically! They told him they were Myconids, peaceful subterranean farmers and tenders of the mushroom forest. They said that they were at war with the kobolds, who despoil the great mushrooms and ambush the Myconids at every opportunity, and that anyone who killed kobolds was a friend to them. They offered the PCs food from their mushroom farms, and a safe place to rest for the night. They told them there were two ways out of the great mushroom forest (besides the way the PCs had entered it). To the south was a great cliff face hundreds of feet high, but at the top was another cavern, occupied by a group of creatures known only as the Black Hands, which seemed to be some sort of mixed-race mercenary army led by hobgoblins. To the west was another passage that led to a place called the Lake of Black Glass, which was inhabited by what the Myconids described as “fish-people.”

After some deliberation, the PCs decided that they wanted to help the Myconids by driving the kobolds from the mushroom forest. They knew the kobolds had set up a small keep with a palisade wall made of mushroom stems. Rather than assault it directly, they set an ambush and waited for the next kobold hunting party to pass by. Within less than a day, they found one and eradicated it in a short but brutal combat. They lay in wait for another hunting party, but none emerged and it soon became clear that the kobolds were reluctant to send another hunting party out after they had lost two in rapid succession.

Unfazed, the PCs gathered a group of Myconids warriors (as well as undead kobolds animated by the zombifying spores of the Myconid sovereign), and charged the kobold keep head on! At first the battle seemed to be going against them – the kobolds hailed the PCs with arrows and spears and took out the zombies very quickly, beginning to pick off the Myconid warriors one by one. But Moirae and Bob were able to pick off individual kobolds on the walls one by one with spells and arrows, and the turning point came when Venjin and the Myconid warriors shattered a portion of the wall, allowing the warriors to flood inside the keep and lay waste to the fragile kobolds. Venjin struck down their leader, Skree-Yark while the massive Myconids shattered the fragile bones of many of her followers, leaving no survivors. The victorious PCs looted the kobold keep, finding a substantial amount of copper, silver and golden coins as well as a handful of gems and a Driftglobe. Each participant gained 150 experience points, and the group decided to adjourn for the day at that point.

Having found temporary shelter in the fields, the PCs took a moment to take stock of their surroundings. In addition to the massive skyline of Cordova City to the North, there were numerous luxurious-looking farm villas dotting the landscape around them. To the West stood a crumbling tower, while to the East there was a river, and beyond it more corn fields and then a forest in the distance. Finally to the south they spotted a town in the distance, as well as a massive keep with twin towers rising up like horns into the sky.

Just then the PCs spotted a group of men on horseback riding South down the road, consisting of the farmer they had spotted riding away earlier, but now accompanied by five soldiers and led by a young man wearing ornate red and gold plate mail. They seemed to be headed towards the farm house where the PCs had been just minutes earlier. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, the PCs decided to hide once again in the cornfield, and make their way West towards the crumbling tower.

Along the way, Wren decided to tell the boy Arian about the teachings of Mishael her god, and the boy was transfixed by her words. He told her that his people worshipped a god called Bel the Sacred Bull, a sun god who had taught them that humans were the chosen race and that the Order of the Sacred Flame must be obeyed. As they arrived at the tower, she gave the boy Arian a pebble carved into the head of a lion, and carved a large “M” on his forehead, and let him go, saying she would return for him. He told her he would not tell anyone about the group and that he would wait for Wren to return.

The PCs had originally hoped the tower would be abandoned, but it turned out that it was occupied by a small crowd. The tower doorway had been smashed in, and inside the opening they had erected a statue of a man wearing plate mail with a flame motif (quite similar to the plate mail worn by the young man on horseback that the PCs had seen earlier). A group of worshipers bowed and knelt at the foot of the statue, placing flowers and lit candles, and a small bowl for collecting coin offerings. Around the perimeter stood a group of men and women in red and gold robes with a flame motif, ostensibly priests or monks.

The curious PCs sent Bob to sneak forward and eavesdrop on the assembled worshipers. They spoke of abominations that had been sighted in the area, and wondered if they had emerged from the Great Storm to the West, or been spirited into the kingdom of Cordova by Earth Wizards. They said the Order of the Sacred Flame was hunting them already and would soon put the abomination threat to rest permanently. The PCs were curious about the assembled worshipers, but they decided to leave the tower alone rather than approaching the strange group.

Just then, Moirae realized that this situation was very close to the events described in the mysterious book she carried with her, which spoke of its protagonist Xryyt finding himself in a strange land. It said he had made his way to a forest in the East, where “the green men” helped him escape his pursuers. Taking the passage for a sign, the PCs retraced their steps eastward across the cornfield, where they witnessed the man in plate mail questioning the boy. Bob crept forward again and listened in on their conversation, where he heard that the man’s name was Marcus Tullius, and he was a member of the Order of the Sacred Flame. He told the boy that the abominations “had killed two already,” and asked the boy if he knew anything about where they had gone, but Arian lied and told Marcus that had been knocked unconscious and the PCs had gotten away.

Avoiding Marcus Tullius and his soldiers, the PCs crept further eastward, attempting to reach the forest across the river. When they came to the road they spotted two bridges across the river, one to the north and another to the south; both appeared to be guarded. The PCs decided to wait until nightfall to attempt to sneak across, and hid in a barley field to wait until the night came. As they waited, they spotted a group of Cordovan soldiers marching south along the road, accompanied by a massive 15-foot golden lion construct, which hissed and clacked as it strode by. Moirae examined the construct briefly but could only determine that powerful magic was needed to create such a machine.

Once night fell, the PCs crept towards the southern bridge, finding just three guards carrying torches and keeping lookout. They planned an ambush, using Bob’s shortbow, Venjin’s javelins, and Moirae’s eldritch blasts to take out the guards at range, hopefully before they could raise an alarm. Launching a lightining attack, the PCs took out two of the guards immediately, but failed to finish off the third before he was able to shout “Abominations!” at the top of his lungs. As they made their way across the bridge, the PCs heard the sound of hooves rumbling towards them, and quickly fled into the grain fields nearby. Hiding there, they say Marcus Tullius and his men approach the bridge. They hoped to hide until he passed by, but he invoked a strange magic that caused his eyes to glow like a burning flame and allowed him to spot the PCs immediately despite the cover of the grain field!

The PCs took off running for the forest, pursued by Tullius and his men on foot. Tullius was faster than his men, and quickly outpaced both them and the PCs. He caught up with Moirae first, but Venjin hung back and engaged him in a brief clash of swords, striking him twice and forcing him to retreat. As his men caught up, he told them that the PCs were headed to the Woods of Weeping, and that they would not follow because it was “infested.”

Unfazed, the PCs made their way into the Woods of Weeping, going deeper and deeper within until they came upon a crumbling blue-white stone staircase with a pair of carved lion heads on either side. A small group of goblins stood guard on the steps, armed with makeshift spears, although they were clearly terrified of the massive presence of Venjin. Bob approached and engaged them in a conversation. They said that they served the Enchantress, rule of the Shadowlands and mother of the Beastmen who dwelled there, far to the Southwest. They added that they had traveled farther than any other goblins in search of a territory to claim as their own, using subterranean caves to avoid the Cordovan patrols, and that they had claimed the Woods of Weeping as their territory and driven the Cordovans away.

Bob got them to fetch their leader, Boss Gordo, and after a short exchange he agreed to allow one of his men to accompany the PCs in exchange for 100 copper Dragons (the Cordovan equivalent of a copper piece). The PCs paid him and he led them inside the ruins, which turned out to be an old disused temple to Mishael, Wren’s patron diety. Inside they found a mural which depicted the creation of Chestworld, originally known as the continent of Lacrima. It was placed in its enchanted chest by the great archmage Sif. The last panel showed Sif distributing five stones to the humans, Elves, Gnomes, Dragonborn, and Dwarves.

But as the PCs prepared to enter the subterranean tunnels, Boss Gordo yelled “Sieze them!” and the goblins attacked! Cursing their sudden-but-inevitable betrayal, the PCs fought a desperate battle against the goblins, which outnumbered them two-to-one. Venjin fell first, taking down four goblins but succumbing to the needle-like blades of the vicious green mob. Then Wren was struck by a blow from Boss Gordo’s greataxe and fell, gravely wounded, to the floor. The battle came down to Moirae against Boss Gordo, the other goblins all dead or wounded, but Moirae carried the day with a critical hit eldritch blast which obliterated the goblin and left the PCs bloodied and bruised, but victorious. The group looted the goblins and adjourned for the day, intent upon exploring the subterranean caves on the next session.

The curtains of our campaign open on the kingdom of Iconia, on the continent of Chrace, in the world of Jurn. Reports had been flying for weeks of a massive fleet of Orcish ships crossing the sea from the continent of Rhovard, intent on invasion. Iconian soldiers had swept the kingdom, rounding up every young, able-bodied person they could find to meet the Orcish invasion fleet on the beaches and hurl them back into the sea. The resulting army mixed professional soldiers with untrained rabble from all walks of life.

Among them stood Wren Moonwhisper, a pacifist Elven priestess of Mishael, the god of healing, pulled reluctantly from her forest hermitage by the pressing need of her people. Next to her stood Moirae, a Tiefling warlock and devotee of Ashkenthar, bearing a strange book and mysterious leaden key. Next came Damon, a halfling urchin and rogue, rounded up off the streets and pressed into the army against his will, as well as Skippy (actual fantasy name also pending), a ranger of mixed Elven and human heritage, bearing bow and sword in defense of his homeland. Finally at the head of the company stood their unit captain, Venjin al-Sokamji, a massive Dragonborn warrior and career soldier, charged with maintaining order in the ranks.

As the Orcish ships approached the shore, their holds opened and hordes of furious warriors surged forth, wearing strange ceramic armor, bearing swords of wave-forged steel and black-powder firearms. The resulting battle was brief and ugly; the forces of Iconia wavered against their strange new foes, and finally lost morale as a massive red dragon swept over the battlefield, bathing hundreds of soldiers in fire. The Iconian ranks broke and fled, with the orcs in hot pursuit, scattering in every direction.

The Player Characters found themselves encircled by Orcish wariors, but Venjin and Skippy were able to cut a path through the invading Orcish foes, making their way towards a narrow staircase that led up a cliff and off of the beach which served as the site of the battle. As the PCs reached the top of the staircase, an Orcish warchief noticed that Venjin’s warhammer boasted a head of Orcish design and shouted that he would take it from Venjin’s corpse.

The PCs chose to flee rather than fight the warchief, and chose to make for the nearby forest to the north, which happened to be close to the location of Wren’s hermitage. She knew the forest paths like the back of her hand, and was able to help the characters to evade the pursuing orcs, leading them to an old abandoned tower that she had seen many times. Taking shelter inside, the PCs began to look around the tower, and at the very top floor they discovered a locked chest, carved with ornate runes. Producing her leaden key, Moirae was able to unlock the chest, revealing a whole miniature world inside – a tiny continent floating in a little ocean, with a painted sky of sun and clouds lazily drifting around the box lid.

Suddenly they heard the sound of pounding footsteps below, and realized that the Orcish warchief must have caught up with them! With no other option, the PCs jumped into the box, which shrunk them down to miniature size! As they looked around, they found themselves in the middle of a field of corn, standing next to a road. There was a massive city to the north, and a rune-covered stone archway nearby to the southeast. As they looked around and tried to get their bearings, the PCs heard a wagon approach, and dived into the corn fields to watch the wagon from a safe distance.

It was fortunate that they did, because as the wagon rolled by they observed it contained several Dragonborn bound in chains and dressed in filthy rags, and flanked by a team of soldiers. The PCs chose to do nothing and let the wagon pass by rather than engaging with the strange folk. Instead, they made their way to the stone archway to the southeast, which bore an inscription in an ancient dialect of common, which read, “Unite the people and gather here the Earthstone, the Lodestone, the Sunstone, the Timestone, and the Skystone, and the way out will be opened to you.”

As the PCs examined the archway, they noticed some children watching them from the corn. Venjin approached and tried to talk to them, but the little boy called him an “abomination,” and added that Venjin, Wren and Skippy were all abominations. The PCs tried to ask more questions of the strange children, but they fled back into the corn, headed in the direction of a nearby farmhouse. Minutes later, the PCs observed a man come dashing out of the house and mount a horse, riding to the North, towards the massive city, a breakneck speed.

Wanting to investigate, the PCs approached the farmhouse and found inside a mother and her two young boys. The mother called the PCs abominations, and said that the Order of the Sacred Flame would come for them soon. Venjin chose to work with his fearsome reputation, intimidating the woman and her children quite fiercely. Through questioning they were able to find out that they were in a country called Cordova, and to the north was the capitol, Cordova City. Cordova, the woman said, was run by a religious group called the Order of the Sacred Flame, which taught that humans were the chosen race and all others were abominations, fit only for enslavement or death.

The PCs asked the woman if her family had any slaves, and she replied that they did have a couple of Dragonborn slaves at work in the fields. Taking one of the children, a young boy named Arian, the PCs asked to see the slaves, and the boy took them to a place in the fields where two Dragonborn were chained to a post, harvesting grain. Venjin asked what their names were, but Arian told him that “Your kind don’t have names, only numbers!” Shocked, Venjin insisted on giving the Dragonborn names, dubbing one Shamosh and the other Barok. He offered to free them, but they said they had nowhere to go. He promised to return to free them someday, and they said they would tell no one about the PCs. With that, the group adjourned for the day.

The adventure log is where you list the sessions and adventures your party has been on, but for now, we suggest doing a very light “story so far” post. Just give a brief overview of what the party has done up to this point. After each future session, create a new post detailing that night’s adventures.

One final tip: Don’t stress about making your Obsidian Portal campaign look perfect. Instead, just make it work for you and your group. If everyone is having fun, then you’re using Obsidian Portal exactly as it was designed, even if your adventure log isn’t always up to date or your characters don’t all have portrait pictures.